How To

Recent Android help and how-to stories

New to smartphones? Just want a sneak peek at what to expect? Here's how to set up your new HTC One M9.
If you're a smartphone veteran, setting up a new phone is like putting on pair of shoes. Or socks. Or anything you do over and over. But if you're new to smartphones, or new to HTC smartphones, or just want a detailed look at what you'll be agreeing to when you turn on the HTC One M9 for the...

HTC BoomSound is more than just a switch — it's worth getting to grips with the various sound modes on the HTC One M9.
BoomSound, HTC's audio enhancement setup, is no longer the straight on-off toggle. On the HTC One M9, BoomSound comes enhanced with Dolby Audio processing tricks, and with it a handful of different sound modes to get to grips with, whether you're listening using headphones or...

The Moto X's camera is more than adequate if you know your way around it.
Motorola's original Moto X didn't have the greatest camera in the world. The 2014 model is a marked improvement, but still not as big or powerful as newer models like the Samsung Galaxy S6. It's a 13-megapixel shooter, and it's got a camera app that brings with it some of our favorite camera features and not a whole lot...

The Sense Home Widget on the HTC One M9 is trying its hardest. It's taking a look at where you are, when you're there and what apps you're using and then surfacing them to the home screen in its predictive, adaptive widget. And it does OK. But sometimes you might want to make sure an app stays put, say, while you're at home versus on the road. And for that there's "pinning."
And this is how...

Yo dawg, we heard you liked cloud storage on your Chromebook so we put more cloud in your cloud.
Well, we didn't do it of course, but Chrome developer Yoichiro Tanaka has found a way to integrate all of your Dropbox into the file manager app on your Chromebook. Or Chromebox. Or that crazy thing that runs Chrome OS from LG that I secretly want.
The good news is that it works very well,...

Chromebooks are supposed to be 'made for everyone', but that doesn't mean it doesn't take adjusting to.
Just as there's some adjustment to using any new computer — even one with the same operating system — Chromebooks take a little fresh thinking and a little time to get the hang of for most users. While it may not seem like much of a difference to you, if you're getting ready to give a...

The little slogan for a Google Account is 'One Account, All of Google', but sometimes one account isn't enough to get you by.
Some of us need personal accounts, joint accounts, professional accounts, work-controlled accounts... really, it's enough to make your head spin. And while Chrome OS using your Google Account login is blissfully simple, it leaves many users confused as to how they...

Shooting in HDR isn't a cure-all solution, but it can definitely make up for shortcomings in your camera.
It's clear to see smartphone cameras have come a long way in just a couple of years, but what you may not realize is that a lot of the advancement can be attributed to software. When dealing with small camera sensors and lenses, like those on your Android, it takes finely-tuned...

This is everything you need to know about Google+, in one handy guide.
Google+ is the social backbone of the Google platform and a pretty decent social network for the millions of users who inhabit it. Thanks to its ties to Hangouts, Google+ can also become your own personal podcast, meeting space, or impromptu concert. Google+ Photos's freedoms and features have attracted photographers...

Polls are a nice, easy ways to gauge opinions.
Politicians are always using polls to assess voter — and donor — opinions. Google Opinion Rewards pays us for answering their short polls. Here at Android Central, our weekly polls are one of the many ways we try to see what you, our readers, think about Android and the burning questions of the day. But what about when you want to get some...

You can tell a lot about a person by the wallpaper on their phone...
Be it a battery-efficient black wallpaper or one of the millions of pictures of your kids that has consumed every byte of free-space on your phone, a wallpaper says a lot about its user. Even if they're still using the bland, boring wallpaper that came with it. It says: my phone isn't here to look pretty, it's here to...

They say the best camera is the one you have with you.
That means that your Android smartphone is likely the camera you use the most and the one you'll be taking pictures off of the most. Nothing can be quite as frustrating as taking a picture you need to print out, or send off to the print shop, but not being able to get it off your phone and onto your necessary machine. And while there...

Things in mobile apps tend to not be in the same places as their desktop browser counterparts.{.intro}
Whether you're trapped between Google Apps and regular Google accounts, helping maintain a Google+ Page, or you're running an intricate multi-user text-based RPG through a G+ Community, switching accounts is one of those things that tends to make your digital life much easier. It hasn't...

The memories you capture with your smartphone don't have to disappear when something bad happens.
There are many photo backup services available to Android users today. Almost all of these services rely on offering a small amount of storage in a cloud backup somewhere, and when you take a photo or record a video that data is sent off to be stored until you need it. While each of these...

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